Lessons Learned After Living in Taiwan for 10 Weeks: Sushi, Sparks and Salmonella

We were in Taiwan for 10 weeks: 70 days and for 15 consecutive days, we were trapped inside a house, not permitted to step outside...15 days ya'll...with 3 young kids...and a husband who worked at night so I had to keep them quiet-ish in the morning...yeah, I'm going to give myself a pat on the back for that. 

Throughout this pandemic I've done a lot of self-discovery, soul searching, that sort of thing and I learned a lot about myself but traveling with young kids in a foreign country for 70 days during a pandemic teaches you a whole 'nother set of life lessons. I will share them with you below. 

1. All bubble tea is not created equal.  We tried as many brands of bubble tea as we could. After trying different brands we found that we like tea made with creamer, 30% sweetened, and contains small tapioca (instead of the boba, which are the larger ones). Tea flavor is important and we found the best ones tended to taste more roasted in flavor. 

2. Our house is too big and we have way too much stuff.  We brought 5 suitcases for our family of 5 to live out of for 3 months. 

This includes 2 suitcases filled with gifts that we brought for family, 3 pairs of skates, a scooter, homeschooling materials, 4 boxes of cereal (yes, like golden grahams and cheerios) and a bunch of crafting supplies. We each brought 3 outfits to wear, 1 bathing suit, a pair of sandals and a pair of tennis shoes. Life was simple, the houses we lived in were around 1000 square feet and with a little of upkeep each day, I could easily keep up with the daily housework. (We didn't even have a dryer or dishwasher!) 

3. I don't need a bigger kitchen, I just need a smarter layout. The kitchen that I cooked in was about 10' x 4 '. There was a sink, a small counter and then a 2-range stove. I loved being able to wash dished while I kept my eyes on whatever was cooking on the stove. At my home in Texas, sometimes the kitchen looks like a tornado had run its course through the house, but in the small Taiwanese kitchen, I was able to easily clean as I cooked and by the time the meal was done, the kitchen was mostly clean as well. 

4. Mosquitos in nature have more mild bites. Mosquitos are everywhere in Taiwan. It's a bad problem, but for some reason when getting mosquito bites in the forest or while hiking, the welt usually fades and doesn't itch for long afterwards. The city mosquitos' bite itches for weeks! 

5. Raw fish is better than half cooked fish when it comes to take-out sushi. Not a good idea. It's was a "when in Rome" situation. We are in Taiwan, a tropical island where seafood is fresh and abundant. When I asked the kids what they wanted to eat 1 more time before we left Taiwan, Hannah said that she wanted sushi. So, being the thoughtful mom that I am, I looked to find a restaurant that made seared salmon sushi (for Nathan), shrimp tempura (for Hailey), and something chicken (for Steve). Well, I found one and we all enjoyed the meal very much...except after the fact, Hannah ended up getting salmonella as well. Raw fish is better than half cooked fish when it comes to take-out sushi.  Don't be like me.

7. Teach all of your children (especially the middle child) about electrical socket safety. I remember telling Nathan about not sticking things into the socket, Hailey knows not to stick things in electrical sockets, but apparently, Hannah missed out on the "No pointy objects in electrical sockets" lesson. It was move-out day from our first Airbnb.  I had just dug out a shard of glass from the bottom of my foot and Hannah runs in, holding her finger saying, "Ouch, it hurts." I take a look at it and see a dark line across her finger, it resembled a mark that would've been left behind if one pinched one's finger in a door. I asked her,
     "Did you slam a door on it?" She said,
     "No. I burned myself." Immediately, my mind goes through all the possible scenarios where she could've burned herself and I came up with nothing.
     "How?" I asked and then the 6 year old proceeded to explain,
     "It just sparked, good thing there wasn't a fire." 
     "What?!?" and then Nathan comes in and explains the situation. Apparently Hannah took a metal hair clip and stuck it in a socket. It sparked and produced enough heat to burn her finger pretty badly. She had a blister on her finger for like a week! We probably should've taken her into the doctor, but she ended up being ok. In my defense, she later told me that she knew it was a bad idea, but she didn't believe that it would've shocked her and was curious to see what being shocked felt like. 

Ok. Lesson learned. 

6. Life is not about the places we visit, but the memories we make with people. When COVID restrictions were put into place, they were in effect for 2 weeks at a time, so as numbers started to decrease, speculation about restrictions being lifted were all the buzz in the news feed. So with each passing week I would gain a little hope about attractions opening back up and then my spirit would be crushed as I repeatedly got met with news about restriction extensions. Sure, I was so disappointed about not being able to take the kids to all of my favorite destinations or to eat in my favorite restaurants, but we made so many memories with each other and our extended family. 

I have no regrets about this trip. 70 days in Taiwan sandwiched between 10 days in Illinois was exactly the little refresh that we needed to reconnect with our loved ones. I'd do it again any day, sparks and all. 

If you want to watch the videos that I created to document our trip, I've posted them all on Youtube. 

There's like 49 videos...literally, so you can totally binge them all at once or savor them slowly like fine wine. Let me know what you end up doing.